The present invention relates to a method of filling fluidizable material into a flexible container, whereby container hangs from lifting loops during the filling operation and its bottom rests against a bottom plane which may be movable.
Fluidizable material, for instance cement, causes special problems during filling thereof into a container and during further handling of the filled container. The most important reason for this is that during the filling operation substantial air gets into the material such that it is fluidized and thereby behaves like a liquid. The consequence of this is that a container filled with fluidizable material will not be stable just after filling. Accordingly, the filled container cannot be disconnected right away from the filling apparatus and placed directly on a conveyor or left standing on a pallet because it quite easily will tilt or slide to the ground.
Several methods have been tried for solving these problems in order to arrive at efficient applications of flexible containers for fluidized material. One method used comprises filling the container while it is hanging on the forks of a truck and thereupon transport the container to storage immediately after the filling operation is completed. However, the container must be hanging sufficiently long on the truck to let a substantial part of the fluidizing air be removed before the container can be placed on a plane surface and stay there without support. Such a method requires application of several trucks and an intermediate storage facility for the filled containers, and the method will accordingly prevent fast filling and further handling of stable containers.
Further known is a filling method and means which enable faster filling and further transport of the filled container, as described in EP-application No. 81108746 (publication No. 64095). Even though such means renders it possible to obtain a faster and more economic further transport of the filled container, there still exist problems with respect to obtaining a stable container immediately after the filling operation.
It further is known to place a flexible container in a cylindric device while it is filled with fluidizable material. The filling process itself is then simple to carry out, but when the filled container is removed from the device several problems arise. Such a filling method requires large space, especially when the container is to be lifted out of the supporting device. Special equipment is also required for this operation.